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MH Act Code of Practice - Lived Experience Advisory Groups 2026

Department of Health and Social Care

This public procurement record has 9 releases in its history.

Award

13 Aug 2026 at 15:32

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

06 Jul 2026 at 18:05

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

05 May 2026 at 16:40

UK4 - Tender Notice
PlanningUpdate

17 Apr 2026 at 15:26

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

16 Apr 2026 at 12:17

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

25 Mar 2026 at 11:21

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

24 Mar 2026 at 11:11

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

19 Mar 2026 at 11:00

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

09 Mar 2026 at 15:16

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department of Health and Social Care commissioned social research and engagement services to support the update of the Mental Health Act Code of Practice. The work involves recruiting diverse people with relevant lived experience, co-producing engagement methods, running structured and ad hoc activities, safeguarding participants’ wellbeing, and producing reports summarising engagement, feedback and views. It was divided into four service areas: general lived experience; children and young people; people with learning disabilities and autistic people; and ethnic minority and racialised communities. Activities are delivered across England. The requirement is relevant to organisations experienced in mental health engagement, participatory research, lived-experience involvement, safeguarding and accessible consultation, including voluntary, community and social enterprises.

This completed open-procedure procurement was awarded on 6 July 2026, with contracts signed between 26 and 29 July 2026. Lot 1, general lived experience, was awarded to MIND (The National Association for Mental Health) for £108,992.42 excluding VAT. Lot 2, children and young people, was awarded to Article 39 for £70,500 excluding VAT. Lot 3, learning disabilities and autistic people, was awarded to The Public Service Consultants Limited T/A The PSC for £117,750 excluding VAT. Lot 4, ethnic minority and racialised communities, was awarded to Rethink Mental Illness for £82,437 excluding VAT. Contract periods run from 26–29 July 2026 to 20–28 April 2028, with options for additional engagement hours and extensions of up to six months. Evaluation was 100% quality, followed by price per quality point. Selection covered financial standing, human-resourcing capacity and cyber security.

This award demonstrates demand from a central government health department for specialist, high-quality engagement with people affected by the Mental Health Act. Credible future suppliers would need to recruit and support diverse participant cohorts, including children and young people, people with learning disabilities, autistic people, and ethnic minority and racialised communities. They would need strong co-production, qualitative research and reporting skills, with the ability to translate lived experience into clear evidence for policy and guidance. Safeguarding participant wellbeing, managing structured and ad hoc engagement, and demonstrating sufficient human-resourcing capacity are central requirements. Suppliers should also be able to meet financial-standing and cyber-security requirements. The four awards show that both large organisations and an SME, as well as voluntary and community organisations, were able to compete for specialist lots.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

MH Act Code of Practice - Lived Experience Advisory Groups 2026

Notice Description

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will enter into a contract to deliver a programme of engagement with people who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice. This includes recruiting a diverse cohort of participants, co-producing engagement methods, delivering structured and ad hoc engagement activities, safeguarding participant wellbeing, and providing high-quality report that include summary of engagement, feedback and views. The service is divided into 4 different lots. Values are exclusive of VAT: Lot 1: Group 1 - General lived experience Lot 2: Group 2 - Children and young people Lot 3: Group 3 - People with a learning disability and autistic people Lot 4: Group 4 - Ethnic minority and racialised communities The value of contracts (all lots) PS299,680+ options PS80,000 total PS379,680 excluding vat. The option relates to the possibility to add additional hours of engagement if needed. Term of the contract: An initial term of twenty-one (21) months, with the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months.

Lot Information

Group 1 - General lived experience

programme of engagement with general people who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice

Options: It is not possible at this stage to predict how many additional engagement hours will be required for each Lot. DHSC has a total maximum budget of PS39,000 for additional hours across all Lots. For contractual purposes only, and to allow for the full range of potential optional spend, DHSC has assumed a notional maximum of PS20,000 per Lot for additional hours. We do not anticipate that we will use the full optional scope value in all of the Lots.

Renewal: the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months.

Group 2 - Children and young people

programme of engagement with children and young people who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice

Options: It is not possible at this stage to predict how many additional engagement hours will be required for each Lot. DHSC has a total maximum budget of PS39,000 for additional hours across all Lots. For contractual purposes only, and to allow for the full range of potential optional spend, DHSC has assumed a notional maximum of PS20,000 per Lot for additional hours. We do not anticipate that we will use the full optional scope value in all of the Lots.

Renewal: the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months.

Group 3 - People with a learning disability and autistic people

programme of engagement with people with learning disability and autistic people who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice

Options: It is not possible at this stage to predict how many additional engagement hours will be required for each Lot. DHSC has a total maximum budget of PS39,000 for additional hours across all Lots. For contractual purposes only, and to allow for the full range of potential optional spend, DHSC has assumed a notional maximum of PS20,000 per Lot for additional hours. We do not anticipate that we will use the full optional scope value in all of the Lots.

Renewal: the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months.

Group 4 - Ethnic minority and racialised communities

programme of engagement with ethnic minority and racialised communities who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice

Options: It is not possible at this stage to predict how many additional engagement hours will be required for each Lot. DHSC has a total maximum budget of PS39,000 for additional hours across all Lots. For contractual purposes only, and to allow for the full range of potential optional spend, DHSC has assumed a notional maximum of PS20,000 per Lot for additional hours. We do not anticipate that we will use the full optional scope value in all of the Lots.

Renewal: the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months.

Planning Information

The Department of Health and Social Care has now completed its preliminary market engagement phase and, through this notice, is publishing a consolidated document containing all supplier queries received during the PME, together with the corresponding official responses and the event presentation. In addition, and to support collaboration, DHSC is facilitating networking opportunities for suppliers who are interested in forming partnerships to deliver this service. Suppliers may submit their details via a dedicated Microsoft Form, which will remain open until 24 April 2026 7pm. The form is available via the PME Q&A document that can be found in Atamis system https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome using the contract number or by clicking the following link https://forms.office.com/e/xtYgn8DSHm Details submitted via the form will be collated to support partnership‑building and, once the tender is launched (scheduled for 27 April 2026), will be shared with suppliers on request ONLY. This notice does not represent a call for competition; it is issued solely to publish the questions and answers arising from the Preliminary Market Engagement (PME), which has now concluded.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06658e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077345-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79315000 - Social research services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£383,500 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£383,500 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
£379,679 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
£379,679 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
13 Aug 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
1 Jun 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
27 Apr 2026Expired
Award Date
6 Jul 20262 months ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department of Health and Social Care
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1H 0EU
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
4
Supplier Names

MIND (THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH)

Article 39

THE PUBLIC SERVICE CONSULTANTS LIMITED

Rethink Mental Illness

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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